Get away, get well: spas aren't simply for the self-indulgent. A few days at a healing retreat can energize you, educate you, and maybe even change your life

Natural Health, May, 2005 by Kathleen Doheny

SPAS AREN'T JUST FOR FACIALS ANYMORE. You may think of such places as hangouts for the overly groomed, but many spas are more accurately described as healing retreats: They've become modern centers for physical, emotional, and spiritual growth--havens for when we need to regroup, rethink our approach to the world, and rededicate ourselves to a healthy lifestyle.

Today, you can take advantage of dozens of therapies and treatments designed to help you slow down, destress, reflect, revamp, and get well. (If you end up with smaller pores in the process, so much the better.) You can choose from minerals, herbs, and essential oils; hot baths and cold showers; allusions and ablutions; wraps, packs, and compresses; rolfing, Reiki, and reflexology. You can trim down or muscle up; lower your cholesterol and blood pressure; get centered or explore the peripheries.

But still, I'm not sure how a notorious hydrophobe like me ended up in the outdoor Watsu pool at the Miramonte Resort and Spa near Palm Springs, Calif.

Watsu (short for water shiatsu) is performed in a shallow pool set at lullingly warm temperatures. Amazingly, as massage therapist Christina Frantzen cradled my neck in her strong arms, my decades-old anxiety about water seemed to float away. Her gentle kneading of my limbs relaxed my body completely, and I surrendered to a sense of euphoric wellness.

The experience is supposed to bring both giver and receiver into "heart coherence," and promote a feeling of oneness with the world--and it did. Christina says she's seen guests become emotionally charged and leave with a new lease on life. As for me, I actually thought about finding an adult swim class. I also decided that spas aren't a luxury in these taxing times; in fact, the times have made them a necessity.

take your time

IF YOU NEED SOME REJUVENATION, set aside a weekend (or a week!) to visit a destination spa or retreat. A multi-day spa program that is executed correctly "can generate the kind of optimism where you feel like all things are possible," says Andrew Weft, M.D., founder and director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson.

Besides the obvious--someone else is cooking and doing the laundry while you pad around in a robe and slippers--"problems seem a little less overwhelming when you have some distance," says David Simon, M.D., medical director of The Chopra Center in Carlsbad, Calif. "It lets you look at your life from a different perspective."

It also allows you to clear away mental clutter. "At the core of our program is the teaching of meditation so that people leave here feeling like they've mastered the technique of quieting their minds," says Simon. "If people can start to quiet their minds, they can start to heal their bodies and their hearts as well."

Just showing up gives you a head start. "Anyone who goes to a spa in the first place already has a proactive mindset about health," says A. Gordon Reynolds, M.D., medical director of the Green Valley Spa in St. George, Utah. The group setting is a plus, he notes, since change is easier when you don't have to go it alone.

rest and research

SPAS PROVIDE RELAXATION and camaraderie, but is there science behind the service? Indeed, there's a growing body of spa research, though some treatments, such as massage therapy, are better documented than others.

In general, techniques classified as mind/body medicine, such as yoga, meditation, hypnosis, visual imagery, group support, spirituality, and prayer, may have positive effects on psychological functioning and quality of life, according to an overview issued by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health.

There may be a physiological impact as well. Hatha yoga and meditation, for example, seem to lower blood pressure and increase production of the hormone melatonin, which may improve your sense of well-being, states a 2004 report in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Investigators at the Freiburg Institute for Mindfulness Research in Germany demonstrated that mindfulness meditation has a positive impact on immune and brain function, while an analysis in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research found that this type of stress reduction may help "a broad range of individuals to cope with their clinical and non-clinical problems." (If you have a chronic medical condition such as hypertension, circulatory problems, or back pain, consult your doctor before going to a spa.)

make it last

HEALTHFUL HABITS may seem easy when you're buoyed by feedback from the staff and other guests. But what happens when you're out the door? "Ideally you come away with the tools and knowledge that allow you to take better care of yourself in the future," says Weil.

The best spas send you home with a game plan to maintain the benefits you realized in the midst of your yoga session, ritual footbath, or support group. "We spend a lot of time helping people make the commitment," says Simon. For instance, if your goal was to learn to meditate and to do it regularly, you get a host of suggestions on how to make that happen.